Spatially variable bioturbation and physical mixing drive the sedimentary biogeochemical seascape in the Louisiana continental shelf hypoxic zone

• Published in: Biogeochemistry Vol. 143; no. 2; pp. 151 - 169
• Main Authors: Devereux, Richard, Lehrter, John C., Cicchetti, Giancarlo, Beddick, David L., Yates, Diane F., Jarvis, Brandon M., Aukamp, Jessica, Hoglund, Marilynn D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer Science + Business Media 01.03.2019; Springer International Publishing; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Benthos; Biogeochemistry; Biogeosciences; Bioturbation; Chlorophyll; Chlorophyll a; Clay; Coefficients; Colonization; Colour; Continental shelves; Cycles; Degradation; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecosystems; Environmental Chemistry; Heavy metals; Hypoxia; Imaging techniques; Iron oxides; Life Sciences; Manganese; Meiobenthos; Metals; Mud-water interfaces; Organic chemistry; Organic matter; ORIGINAL PAPERS; Oxic conditions; Oxygen; Pore water; Profiles; Reduction; Rivers; Sediment; Sediment mixing; Sedimentation; Sediments; Solid phases; Stations; Sulfate reduction; Sulfates; Sulphate reduction; Louisiana; United States > US; Bioturbation; Sulfate reduction; Marine sediments; Continental shelf biogeochemistry; Sediment profile imaging; Hypoxia; Sediment iron cycling; Gulf of Mexico; River outflow sediments; Infauna
• ISSN: 0168-2563; 1573-515X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10533-019-00539-8

Seasonal hypoxia on the Louisiana continental shelf (LCS) has grown to over 22,000 km² with limited information available on how low oxygen effects the benthos. Benthic macrofaunal colonization and sediment biogeochemical parameters were characterized at twelve stations in waters 10–50 m deep along four transects spanning 320 km across the LCS hypoxic zone in the early fall of 2010 when bottom waters typically return to oxic conditions. Chemical data and sediment profile imaging (SPI) support three primary mechanistic pathways of organic matter degradation on the LCS: (i) metal oxide cycling in depositional muds, (ii) infauna-driven bioturbation delivering oxygen below the sediment–water interface, and (iii) sulfate reduction in sediments where iron oxide availability is limited. The transect nearest the Mississippi River delta had the highest concentrations of porewater and solid phase Mn and Fe with SPI images of recently deposited reddish, mixed muddy sediments suggestive of metal cycling. The deepest stations had high oxidized iron concentrations and rust colored sediments with faunal colonization that suggests sediments are oxidized via bioturbation. Many nearshore and central LCS stations had more black sediments, more disturbed clay layers, lower amounts of oxidized iron, and higher sulfate reduction rates than the deepest stations. Sediment mixing coefficients, DB, determined from chlorophyll-a concentration profiles varied between 33 and 183 cm⁻² year⁻¹. DB values were highest at the deepest stations where sediments were colonized. DB were not determined at two nearshore stations where chlorophyll-a concentrations were highly variable in surficial sediments, and on the eastern shelf where sedimentation is high. This study provides a regional view of benthic faunal colonization and sediment biogeochemistry on the LCS, describes regions with potentially different pathways of organic matter degradation, and demonstrates the importance of both bioturbation and physical mixing in processing the large amounts of organic matter in river-dominated continental shelf systems.